Nature’s food

Press, 17 November 1981, Page 18

Nature’s food

Today, when we say “milk” we usually mean cow’s milk, but in other countries “milk” may come from something entirely different. Half the milk consumed in India is from the buffalo, while goat’s milk is widely used in countries along the Mediterranean, and the milk of reindeer is used as food in Northern Europe. But milk, and milk products such as butter and cheese, were probably first used thousands of years ago. It is likely that they were common foods of the people roaming the grasslands of early Asia. The Bible also has many

references to milk. Many of you may think that the idea of making concentrated and dry milk is a modern one. Actually, . concentrated milks in paste, and probably in dry . form, were prepared as early as the year 1200. The original patent for evaporated milk was granted in 1856, and this type of milk was widely used by soldiers during the American Civil War. About 87 per cent of the milk from the cow is water, but the remainder supplies man with a high percentage of his daily requirements in calcium, protein, and vitamins A and B.